The elephant in the room is the annoyance that straight people have when accosted by gays. (And yes, that has happened to me.) And it has been said that gays love the challenge of getting a "straight." Now police are likely sympathetic to heteros in these instances. Does that make the arrests constitutional. No. But they are certainly less damaging than a fist crashing into someone's mouth. (And no, I haven't done that.)

Perhaps anti-cruising laws can be put back on the books, now that we have Craig's List.

" And it has been said that gays love the challenge of getting a 'straight.'"

Way to go on the passive voice there. Here's one: It has been said that the "straights" aren't too comfortable being made to feel the target of sexual aggression, e.g., the way straight men have made women feel for, like, forever.

There are gays who are turned on by straight guys; it's not so much different from straight guys who are turned on by lesbians. Likewise, there are a subset of straight men who think they could turn a lesbian or two, given a night or two.

Objectively, a straight guy getting hit on by a gay guy is no different than a straight woman getting hit on by a guy with a mullet; just in the latter case, the woman tends not to be so egocentric as to feel that the encounter threatens to define her.

sftroybob:

It has been said that the "straights" aren't too comfortable being made to feel the target of sexual aggression, e.g., the way straight men have made women feel for, like, forever.

And there it is. The real reason behind it all.

Don’t like it, straight guy? Fuck you. Women have been made to feel like this for like, ever. So now it’s your turn, straight white male! Now you get to be objectified, harassed, and made to feel uncomfortable. Because the answer to injustice is more injustice- from the other side.

It's more that there is a double standard about the kind of straight sexual come-on that is acceptable as compared to the kind of gay sexual come-on that is acceptable. There is a certain degree of sexual luring of women by men (and vice versa) that is fine, even encouraged, or men and woman would never get it on. That threshold of acceptance is a lot lower when it is gay-on-straight (or, likely more accurately, gay-on-'i wonder if he's gay too'). A man giving a woman the obvious once-over (and vice versa) is commonplace; for many straight men, a gay man doing the same is going too far.

Wait, how did "white" get in there?

Is there anywhere in the United States where guys really get hit on in public by other guys on any sort of routine basis, other than in recognized gay meetup spots? It seems that this "fear" is pretty overstated. That being said, I agree that that is the principal reason why the unconstitutional law is sometimes still applied by the police.

No you haven't done that -- yet. You are of course thinking about it. So now's the time to get your licks in before hate crime laws are instituted to spoil your good times.

<A HREF="http://fablog.ehrenstein­land.com/2009/10/21/a-matter-o­f-opinion/">The Washington Post sympathizes with you.</A>

Wow.You very eloquently laid out what I was screaming in my head.Too bad the people that need to hear it probably won't...

Badbone:

[And there it is. The real reason behind it all.

Don’t like it, straight guy? Fuck you. Women have been made to feel like this for like, ever. So now it’s your turn, straight white male! Now you get to be objectified, harassed, and made to feel uncomfortable. Because the answer to injustice is more injustice- from the other side.

Oh, for the love of Pete. Step back a bit here--the point is if it's not illegal for women to be the target of any unwanted sexual advances from straight men, it shouldn't be (and isn't) illegal for men to be the target of any unwanted sexual advances from gay men.

However, while it is just as wrong for men to be harassed as it is for women to be harassed, you will have to excuse me as I take a moment, as a woman, to savor the delicious irony of straight men complaining about being hit on.

Attention straight men: if merely being hit on by a gay man makes you uncomfortable, there is no legal recourse available to you. Seek another venue for recourse. And no hitting. You should feel free, however, to simply wear less revealing clothing. Because you must have been asking for it.

It's more like, grow up and learn how to deal with things that make you uncomfortable without acting like a punk.

I have to admit as a woman I always find this complaints incredibly ironic. Especially since it's usually the guys who are most obnoxious to women that have such issues with being hit on by someone they don't want to hit on them.

Get a grip. If women had all the guys who made unwanted advances arrested most of the male population would be in jail. Honestly, this just comes across as you being afraid and a bit unhinged.

Puller58:

The elephant in the room is the annoyance that straight people have when accosted by gays. (And yes, that has happened to me.) And it has been said that gays love the challenge of getting a "straight." Now police are likely sympathetic to heteros in these instances. Does that make the arrests constitutional. No. But they are certainly less damaging than a fist crashing into someone's mouth. (And no, I haven't done that.)

Really? You can't see your blatant homophobia in this paragraph?

You don't like being hit on by gay men? Stop being so damn good looking.

What a choice, arrest someone illegally, or hit them in the mouth because you're uncomfortable. How about you learn to deal with uncomfortable things like a grown up.

JS0809:

However, while it is just as wrong for men to be harassed as it is for women to be harassed, you will have to excuse me as I take a moment, as a woman, to savor the delicious irony of straight men complaining about being hit on.

Attention straight men: if merely being hit on by a gay man makes you uncomfortable, there is no legal recourse available to you. Seek another venue for recourse. And no hitting. You should feel free, however, to simply wear less revealing clothing. Because you must have been asking for it.

Lmao! That is priceless JS. Mind if I use it the next time I hear a straight guy complaining about being hit on by a gay guy?

As a straight guy who has been hit on by gay friends, gay acquaintances and even a couple of anonymous gay guys, I just choose to take the advance in the spirit in which it is intended; namely, as compliments about my dashing good looks and smouldering sex appeal :).

Yeah, WTF?